Hilton Says It Wants to Be Alone

Hilton Hotels Corp. hung out a do-not-disturb sign Thursday, saying it would pass up buyout offers for now and try to negotiate a better deal or come up with a restructuring plan.

The lodging-casino concern, which put itself up for sale last summer, said its directors met Tuesday and Wednesday to consider bids and restructuring proposals. The board adjourned “without taking definitive action,” Hilton said.

Its stock, which had traded as high as $115.50 a share last August, tumbled $3.25 to $58.50 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Hilton said its board “instructed its financial advisers and management to further develop the acquisition proposals and the alternate strategies and to report back to the board on these matter within the next several weeks.”

Hilton has effectively been up for sale since settlement of a dispute over the estate of founder Conrad Hilton last May. The company formally invited offers in August for all or part of its lodging and casino operations.